The present invention relates to safety means associated with matchbooks intended to reduce fire and other hazards, particularly to children, associated with commonly used cardboard matchbooks. More particularly, it is to be appreciated that the exterior disposition of the friction strip of a normal matchbook presents an invitation for any child to experiment with. That is, the conventional, so-called safety matches have, in actuality, proven to afford safety only with respect to extremely young children. It has been found that a child, upon reaching about three years of age, possesses little difficulty in lighting a match from the so-called safety matchbook.
Accordingly, it is the intention of the present invention to provide a new type of safety matchbook which will afford the desired safety feature to a broader age range of children.
The prior art in the present field is characterized by such patents as U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,090,712 (1937) to Wachholz; 1,658,849 to Lichtendorf; 2,118,726 (1938) to Edwards; and 2,845,172 (1958) to Fridolph.
While the above art suggest various approaches to improving the safety factor in cardboard matchbooks, the above has not served as a practical and effective means for attaining the desired result.